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Lemon Ricotta Cheesecake ~ Italy Part 3: Florence

Even before my jet lag ceased, I was missing Italy. That has never happened to me before. When we travel I am the first to want to go home and am always so happy to be home when I get there. But not this time. Italy seems to have a gravity of it’s own, pulling you in, making you want to linger… or perhaps stay forever.

Florence is the capital of Tuscany and was the third stop on our trip. (Click links to see lovely Rome and Positano) Florence is an amazing city and it seems everywhere you turn there is something beautiful to see: statues, fountains, food, museums filled with spectacular works of art, gelato…even the people are beautiful. Florence is divided by the Arno river which creates some fantastic photo opportunities.

To see a 30 second video of beautiful pictures we took in Florence click—> here.

The day after we arrived was my birthday and Mother’s Day. My husband arranged for us to take a cooking class with the lovely Laura Franceschetti at cookinginflorence.it Laura has the most amazing old Italian home, what we would call a brownstone, three stories high with a beautifully updated kitchen that still maintains it’s old world charm. We made gnocchi, a zucchini and cheese side dish, a chicken main dish and finished with this birthday cake!

This is Lemon Ricotta Cheesecake. Gorgeous isn’t it? And it’s made with almond meal instead of flour so it is naturally gluten free! We had a blast at this cooking class and the food was amazing!

To see a 30 second video of our cooking class in Florence click—> here.

Lemon Ricotta Cheesecake with Strawberry Coulis

Prep15mins

Cook30mins

Total45mins

AuthorLinda Spiker

Yield8-10

This recipe is an adaptation from an old Italian recipe for Torta Di Ricotta found in the cookbook Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well. All ingredients in Italy are measured by weight which is more accurate but I will offer American measurements too.

Ingredients

Cake:

500 grams (16 oz) ricotta cheese (full fat and strained of water)

130 grams (2/3 cup) sugar

150 grams ( 3/4 cup) almond meal

4 whole eggs

4 egg yolks

zest of two large lemons

Strawberry Coulis:

6 fresh or thawed frozen strawberries

50 grams (about 1/4 cup sugar) sugar

Juice of half a large lemon

1-2 Tablespoons water if needed to thin out coulis

Instructions

Do ahead: Place a colander over a large bowl. Line with paper towel. Pour ricotta cheese in strainer lined with paper towel and let sit for 2 hours. Water will drip into bowl. Discard water.

Lemon Ricotta Cheesecake:

Preheat oven to 350 and place rack in lower third of oven. Cut parchment paper so it covers the bottom and sides of a springform pan with an inch or so of hangover. Crumble paper and run under water. Ring out paper, grease with butter and place in springform pan. Set aside.

whisk together ricotta cheese and sugar.

add almond meal and eggs, whisk till smooth

add lemon zest and mix well

Pour in prepared pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until center of cake is set. If cake begins to brown, tent with foil. Allow to cool before removing from springform pan. Turn cake over and place on a serving dish. Cut into pie shapes and drizzle with strawberry coulis.

Strawberry Coulis:

Place strawberries, sugar and lemon juice in a blender and blend till smooth. If needed add a 1-2 T water for thinning.

CoursesDessert

CuisineItalian

To say my birthday and Mother’s day were memorable is an understatement! After our cooking class and fabulous lunch we spent a few hours Skyping with our children from three different countries, Italy, Argentina and the good old US. Be sure to come back next week when I will be sharing a recipe inspired by our stay in Montepulciano, Italy!

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I just returned from a 30 day trip to Europe and visited many of the same places and sites you experienced. I was searching and hoping to find a specific recipe, so It was really fun to stumble onto your website! While I was in Chianti, in the Tuscany region, Italy, our wine-tasting tour stopped at a very small little village for a brief layover between wine tastings. I had the most amazing cheesecake in that little village that I have ever had, and I’m thinking your lemon ricotta cheesecake recipe may be very close to what I had–not too sweet and a much lighter taste than what I’ve previously experienced. Looking forward to trying out your recipe!! Thank you.

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